Record wildfires push Canada into top
four CO2 emitters in 2023
OTTAWA, Aug 29: Record wildfires in 2023 bumped Canada into the top four greenhouse gas-emitting countries in the world that year, according to a study Wednesday that also cast doubt on its forests' future ability to capture and store significant amounts of CO2. Last year saw a catastrophic number of wildfires across the country, with 15 million hectares-some 58,000 square miles, or about four percent of Canada's total forest area-burned and more than 200,000 people displaced. Looking at satellite data of smoke plumes from fires that burned from May to September of last year, researchers determined that 2,371 megatonnes of carbon dioxide and monoxide were released, pushing Canada's ranking up from eleventh to fourth among the world's top carbon emitters. — AFP
Typhoon lashes Japan with rain, strong winds
TOKYO, Aug 29: A typhoon lashed southern Japan with torrential rain and strong winds Thursday, causing at least three deaths as it started a crawl up the length of the archipelago and raised concerns of flooding, landslides and extensive damage. Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in the morning near Satsumasendai in southern Kyushu, where up to 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) of rain could fall in 24 hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. —AP
HK journalists guilty in sedition case
HONG KONG, Aug 29: Two journalists who led a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong have been found guilty of sedition. Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, two editors at the now-defunct Stand News media outlet, could now face a maximum jail term of two years. This is the first sedition case against journalists in Hong Kong since the territory's handover from Britain to China in 1997. Rights groups have condemned the verdict, with Reporters without Borders calling on Hong Kong to "stop its nefarious campaign against press freedom". — BBC
Four kidnapped in northwest Pakistan
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Aug 29: Suspected militants kidnapped four people, including an army officer who was sitting in a mosque in a former stronghold of Pakistani Taliban to receive mourners after attending his father's funeral, officials said Thursday. No one claimed responsibility for Wednesday's kidnapping of Lt. Col. Khalid Khan and three others in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan. There was no immediate comment by the military or the government. — AP
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